Chapter 13

Holding the end of a crepe paper streamer in one hand and a two-inch piece of masking tape in the other, Emma stood on the ladder and stretched to attach the decoration to the wall.

"Wait," Casey exclaimed. "Let me move it closer."

"No," Emma grunted. "I think I got it—" Her foot slipped from the top rung and Casey shrieked. Then she gaped when she realized that her friend hadn't fallen.

Dangling from the sill of a clerestory window by both hands, Emma struggled to pull herself higher. "Uh…" she realized that the sill was too narrow and the ceiling too close for her to sit. "I guess you can move the ladder after all?"

Casey hurried to obey. "That was amazing!" she said, as Emma stretched out a foot, gingerly feeling for a place to set it down.

"What? That I didn't break my neck?"

"Emma… you… you just did a pull-up!"

Emma set her other foot down. "Yeah? Seriously, it's no big deal."

"I can't do one," Casey said. "I don't think any of the other girls here can either."

Emma affixed the streamer and backed down the ladder. "Well, when you're getting chased by a gang of bigger kids and you can't outrun them, sometimes you can still get away from them." She sighed. "If you know a park where there are climbing bars, I can teach you."

Casey grinned and after a moment, Emma smiled back cautiously.

Jerrica didn't usually go to the airport to greet her bands when they returned from a tour these days. Of course, back when she'd first gotten started, Starlight Music had only one signed band, and she'd been its lead singer. Sometimes, though, Synergy had still arranged for Jerrica—or a reasonably accurate holographic facsimile—to be seated in the arrivals lounge, to keep up appearances. It also kept down Rio's suspicions, she thought with a pang, and wondered for what felt like the millionth time what might have happened if she'd told him from the get-go that she and Jem were the same person.

I read Superman comics when I was a kid. I used to think it was funny that Clark and Superman were both competing for the same woman, and she didn't realize they were both the same guy! It hadn't been funny when she'd been the one with the secret identity. She hadn't planned on it. She'd just been furious to find out that Eric was running a rigged contest to promote a band that had—to her inexperienced eyes—represented everything in the music industry that her father had opposed. Her father had given half of Starlight Music to his eldest daughter and the other half to his protégé. For Eric to then turn around and use that half to launch the Misfits had felt to Jerrica like a slap in the face.

She'd thought about starting a rival band to block Eric's play. Maybe, in the end, she, Kimber, Aja, and Shana would have still shown up at that Battle of the Bands, no matter how nervous she'd been about putting herself out there. She'd worried then that if word got out about a rock singer running a foster group home, it would have invited more scrutiny from social services. After all, everyone knew the stereotype about crazy schedules, long hours, frequent travel, wild parties—not that we did any of those, but people would have made assumptions.

The department would have wondered if Starlight House was providing the 'right' environment for the girls. And the first Starlight House was… well, it was kind of a dump. The girls were canvassing the neighborhood looking for odd jobs so we could buy a new fridge, for crying out loud! The wiring was always going; if that burglar hadn't accidentally started that fire, it might have burned down a few days later. I was barely twenty and in the space of a few months, I'd gone from big sister to foster mom and I didn't want anyone to think I couldn't handle things and see those girls get split up in other homes. It just made sense to let Jem be the rock star and keep Jerrica doing the administrative stuff. With Mrs. Bailey overseeing the day-to-day running, it worked fine. Except…

Not for the first time, she wondered what would have happened if Rio had been there the night she'd received the box with the Jem-star earrings. What if he'd been in the car with them when they'd found Synergy at the Starlight Drive-In? That night had been spent in a whirlwind of possibilities, each more exciting and outrageous than the next and before she realized what she and the others were getting into, Jem and the Holograms had been born.

I still could have told him. Right after the concert, I could have explained everything. So… why didn't I?

She'd been afraid of Eric finding out. Maybe, in light of the things he later proved capable of doing, that hadn't been as paranoid as it had seemed back then. A whispered confession overheard at the wrong time by the wrong people might have spelled disaster.

I still meant to tell him. At least, until Synergy warned me that if word got out about her capabilities, in the wrong hands, she could be forced to use them for crime. That spooked me enough not to want to tell anyone, not even Rio, at first. And then I was in too deep and there was no good way to tell him that wouldn't make him feel like a fool or a flunky. And by the time I decided I still had to try, it was too little, too late.

Not for the first time, she wondered where Rio was now. He'd been a great road manager and, with his talent for lighting and sound system, there was a good chance he was still in the industry, but in the years since he'd walked out of her life, she'd never heard a whisper.

"Your attention please," a pleasant voice came over the transom breaking into Jerrica's reverie. "American Airlines Flight 518 from San Francisco is now arriving."

Jerrica took a deep breath. Then she squared her shoulders, stood up, and walked to the double doors that led from the waiting area to the baggage reclaim, ready to welcome Kaleidoscope Haze when they came through.

Wendy accepted the heavy rectangle as gingerly as though it were a Neverland dreamshade thorn. "Must I?" she asked.

John nodded. "You need to get comfortable with these devices sooner, rather than later. It won't do for you to muff it in public."

Wendy nodded. "So I… I press the numbers in this sequence," she gestured to the paper before her, "and she will answer me?"

"If she's there," John said. "She may not be." He gestured to the charging base. "Set it back here when you're done. It loses power if it's away from it for too long.

Wendy swallowed hard. Then she took a deep breath and punched Tamara's number into the phone. "It's making a sound," she said. "But she isn't speaking."

"It's ringing," John said. "Wait."

The ringing stopped abruptly and Tamara's voice came on. "Hello, Tamara?" The voice hadn't stopped speaking. "It's Wendy. I should like very much to visit that bird sanctuary with you. Tamara? Tamara?" She winced as a piercing tone sounded in her ear and practically slammed the phone onto its base.

She looked at John. "I don't believe she's interested, but she might have told me instead of… of… blowing a policeman's whistle!"

John sighed and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "I believe I forgot to mention answering services," he said, the faint smirk on his face giving the lie to his apologetic tones. "We'll try this again."

"Again?" Wendy exclaimed. "Oh, no. Once was quite enough, thank you! If you wish to get your hearing assaulted, have at it. I do believe I'll simple withdraw!"

John shook his head. "Just so long as you don't hide under your bedcovers when you do it," he drawled. "That was childish enough in London."

Wendy's face reddened and she felt angry tears come to her eyes. "I am a child, in case you hadn't noticed! And I hate this place and this time and these infernal machines and I hate your sneering at me and acting all grown up. And I hate that you know so much about these things and I know nothing and you're a beast and I hate you, too!" And with that, she whirled on her heel and flounced out the nearest door, slamming it behind her.

Under the circumstances, John judged it wisest to pretend his sister hadn't just shut herself up in the clothes closet. After a moment, he exited the bedroom, closing that door softly behind him, though hopefully, loudly enough that Wendy would hear it and know that she was now alone in the room and that it was safe to emerge.

"It's beautiful," Jerrica exclaimed, taking in the diamond on Aja's finger and immediately looking up to smile at both her foster sister and her foster sister's fiancé. "You've got good taste in jewelry, too, I see," she added to Craig, immediately wincing a bit and hoping that her joke hadn't fallen flat.

Craig and Aja just laughed.

Behind them, Kimber and Stormer exchanged wistful looks. One day, maybe one of them would have the guts to give the other a ring like that. Or they both would. And maybe Jerrica would be just as happy for them. And maybe one day, there would be a ceremony for them that would legally unite them. It was coming, Stormer thought to herself. She believed it was. She just didn't think it was coming any time soon.

Something of what she was thinking must have shown on her face, for Kimber's gaze turned questioning. Stormer blinked, smiled lightly, and wished she could squeeze her lover's hand in public without someone suspecting that they were, in fact, lovers. Maybe one day, it wouldn't be such a big deal if they were.

"So," Jerrica said, "about the benefit…"

Kimber heaved a sigh. "Do we have to talk about it now? We're not even at the mansion, yet! I mean, would it truly be outrageous if we just had some tea—herbal tea—and cake and went to sleep and discussed things in the morning?"

Jerrica blinked. "I just wanted to make sure everyone was still on board, before we announced it."

"We said we were, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Jerrica said. "Over a month ago. We haven't mentioned it since. I didn't want to assume without ch ecking." Sometimes, it felt like she couldn't win with her sister.

Kimber wasn't sure why Jerrica got under her skin. At the back of her mind, a small voice suggested that maybe she was jealous of Aja and Craig being able to declare their relationship and her sister was just a convenient target for her pent-up emotions. It sounded like something her therapist might have brought up, years back, when she'd had a therapist, to help her cope after her mother had died in that plane crash. Now, she exhaled noisily. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Tonight? Let's grab some take-out on the way home and talk about something else when we get there, okay?"

Jerrica winced. In the rearview mirror, she took in the expressions of the other three passengers. All were weary. None were comfortable. She thought she caught a bit of sympathy in Aja's eyes; her foster sister had witnessed a many of these… what even were they? Not exactly arguments, not really squabbles, maybe just… talking past each other? Whatever it was, Aja got it in a way that Stormer and Craig simply couldn't.

Now, Aja said only, "Sleeping on it isn't a terrible idea. It's not like the contracts have to be signed before bedtime, right?" She smothered a yawn. "Speaking of which, I think it's probably past mine."

In other words, Aja was advising her not to argue the point. Jerrica smiled faintly to let her know that the message had been received. "Sure."

"There's a dance class at the Y tonight," John said, stepping into the apartment and closing the door softly behind him.

Wendy shook her head. "Doubtless the dancing's different here, too," she said. "Likely they all… stand on their hands or-or-or spin on their bottoms or something!"

John raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe break-dancing is as popular now as it was a decade ago. It still goes on, but actually, I've enrolled you in ballet."

"Wait," Wendy said. "I was joking! Are you telling me that style of dance is real?"

"Quite," John said. "And rather interesting to watch, though I'll admit I was a bit scandalized the first few times I did. The technique is often quite splendid."

Wendy exhaled. "I can imagine so." Then she recalled the dancing that John had actually registered her for. "Ballet?" she said softly. "Real ballet? Like what I studied back at home? It hasn't changed?"

John coughed. "Well, as I understand it, some of the steps have been incorporated into more modern styles, but the class you'll be taking should be more or less the sort of thing you learned back then. Not that I would know if a particular step was introduced in 1850 or 1950, of course."

Wendy looked down at the still-stiff denim encasing her legs. She thought about the two skirts hanging in the closet. Both were shorter than she was accustomed to, but neither would be loose enough for ballet. "I shall need a costume, shan't I?" she said.

John nodded. "That's why I've come home to fetch you. Something like that will be… well, it'll be better if you try it on first. I've spoken with the instructor and she recommended several shops we might try." His smile turned serious. "Your class is an hour long. I'll be instructing swimmers at the same time, but I expect there'll be at least a half hour between the time your lesson ends and the time that I've showered and changed out of my bath costume." He smiled. "Of course, Tamara will be at the reception desk, and I believe you'll find it easier to talk to her in person than on your… infernal device?"

Wendy lowered her eyes in embarrassment, but John could see an answering smile curving on her lips.

Emma had to admit that she was making some headway with her report. The new book was interesting, and if the main character was also an orphan and a bit of a misfit, at least reading this one didn't feel like someone was picking at a scab on a half-healed scrape.

She pushed away her notebook with a sigh and looked at the time. She still had another hour to go before lights out. She thought about working on the song for the Starlights, but the words weren't coming.

Emma frowned. She'd come up with the first lyrics when she'd been in that auditorium. Maybe it would help if she went back there?

Hesitantly, she padded back down the stairs. It wasn't until she was in the auditorium and halfway to the stage that she realized she wasn't alone.

A head with a mop of bright orange hair poked up from one of the front row seats, and a surprised, but not unfriendly voice said, "Oh, hi!"

Emma swallowed. "I'm… I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't think anyone else would be here."

"I guess you're the new girl," the stranger said, still sounding friendly. "I'm Kimber. Jerrica's sister."

"Oh," Emma said. "I didn't know she had one."

Something hardened in Kimber's eyes. "She didn't mention me, I take it. Surprise, surprise."

Emma took a step backwards, and Kimber relaxed. "Oh, it's not your fault, uh…"

"Emma."

"Emma," Kimber repeated, smiling again. "I only live here when I'm in town and I've been on tour for months. I'm not going anywhere for a while, now, but I guess Jerrica probably wanted to wait until I got back before doing any introductions."

Emma's jaw dropped. "Wait," she blurted. "Wait. Kimber… Benton? Like… Kaleidoscope Haze Kimber Benton? Seriously?"

Kimber grinned. "That's me."

"I-I…"

"Hey. You want to head to the kitchen and grab some hot cocoa? I make a mean cup, even if I do say so myself."

Hot cocoa? With Kimber Benton? Feeling somewhat dazed, Emma managed a nod.

Wendy and Tamara were deep in an animated conversation when John approached the reception desk. "Sorry for the delay," John said. "A parent had some concerns about her child's progress and it took me some time to allay them."

Tamara rolled her eyes. "The hag in brown Gucci? She barreled past me about ten minutes ago, looking like a storm cloud."

"I can't tell Gucci from Gap," John shrugged. "But she was rather stormy." He turned to Wendy. "I trust you weren't bored?"

"No, not at all," Wendy said brightly. "Dance class was wonderful, and," she smiled at her brother, "you were right about the leotard not being too fast. All of the other girls were wearing the same thing." It would be some time before she felt truly comfortable in anything that clung to her body quite that tightly though, she thought to herself. Aloud, she continued, "Tamara was telling me more about the birds in Griffiths Park. In fact, she'd like to take me there on Saturday."

"That's okay, isn't it?" Tamara asked. "If you've made other plans, or…"

John shook his head. "No, we haven't. And I know Wendy would love it. In fact," he said, meeting Wendy's eyes with a meaningful expression, "there is something that I need to arrange soon and if the two of you will be off together this weekend, I believe that would be the ideal time for it."

Tamara grinned. Wendy's smile was a bit more forced, though only John noticed it.

Emma took a sip and set the mug down, an expression of sheer bliss on her face. "I never knew you could put cinnamon in hot cocoa," she said. "This is amazing."

"Raya introduced me to it," Kimber grinned. Seeing Emma's blank look, she said, "I was part of Jem and the Holograms before Aja and I joined Stormer and Craig to form Kaleidoscope Haze. Raya and Shana were the other Holograms."

"Oh," Emma said, wondering whether it would be too childish to run back upstairs and grab the pajamas she'd gotten at Haven House out of the clothes hamper to show her new friend.

"Yeah, it may not be as truly outrageous as chili and orange zest, but not everyone likes that much spice. I do, though," she added.

Emma took another gulp. "Maybe I should just stick to cinnamon."

She wouldn't get the PJs. The cocoa might be cold by the time she got back, and anyway, with laundry tomorrow, they probably already had that disgusting dirty clothes odor. But if Kimber was still here when the clean laundry came back, Emma promised herself she'd find some excuse to show them off. And maybe, just maybe, Kimber—and Aja—would autograph them!